Off the wire

GOLF

O’Meara wins by 4

Mark O’Meara seized control with five birdies on the front nine and closed with a 7-under 66 for a four-shot victory Sunday in the Cologuard Classic, his first victory on the PGA Tour Champions in more than eight years. At 62 years, 1 month, 17 days, he’s the fourth-oldest winner in the history of the 50-and-over tour. O’Meara had a one-shot lead going into the final round and stretched it to four going to the back nine. He was never seriously challenged the rest of the way. O’Meara finished at 17-under 202 on Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course. Darren Clarke holed a 50-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 68 to tie for second with Willie Wood, Kirk Triplett and Scott McCarron, who each had 69. Defending champion Steve Stricker had a 70 to tie for sixth at 11 under. Former baseball star John Smoltz tied for 53rd at 1 over in his tour debut, closing with a 73. The 51-yearold Hall of Fame pitcher got into the field on a sponsor exemption.

Park victorious

Sung Hyun Park made sure there were no anxious moments as she closed in on her sixth LPGA Tour victory on Sunday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. Four strokes behind No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn at the start of the final round, the world No. 2 birdied five of her first seven holes and added four more birdies on the back nine for an 8-under 64 and a two-stroke victory. Park had a four-round total of 15-under 273 at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong course. No. 3-ranked Minjee Lee, who led for part of the front nine Sunday, was second after a 69. Amy Olson, who led after Friday’s second round, shot 70 and the American finished in a tie for fifth, five strokes behind. Jutanuguran shot 75 and finished in a tie for eighth, seven strokes behind Park.

Kitayama wins Oman

American golfer Kurt Kitayama won his second European Tour title by a single shot after a remarkable comeback at the weather-hit Oman Open on Sunday. The 26-year-old Californian had carded a quadruple-bogey eight at the first hole of his third round and then dropped two more shots before bad light ended play. Kitayama returned Sunday morning to claim six birdies and an eagle for a third-round 71 and then fired 2-under 70 on a marathon final day. He finished overall at 7-under 281. Spain’s Jorge Campillo (69) birdied four of the last seven holes to earn a share of second place along with Clement Sordet (70), Fabrizio Zanotti (74) and overnight leader Maximilian Kieffer (72).

USGA, Thomas to meet

The USGA said it will meet with Justin Thomas in the coming days in response to his criticisms over some of the game’s newest rules changes. The world’s No. 3 player and the USGA engaged a bit over Twitter during the weekend, and then chatted offline as well. USGA senior managing director of championships John Bodenhamer said he has arranged a meeting with Thomas, one of many players who have expressed displeasure about the modernized Rules of Golf that took effect this year. Bodenhamer told Golf Channel the USGA will renew its efforts to explain some of the rule tweaks to players. The Honda Classic this week provided a plethora of rules-related issues, from Thomas not being able to replace a bent club to Alex Cejka being disqualified for using an oversized greens-reading book.

TENNIS

Kyrgios wins 5th ATP title

Nick Kyrgios won the Mexico Open in Acapulco on Saturday night for his fifth ATP Tour title, beating second-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 in the hardcourt event at The Princess Mundo Imperial. Kyrgios, 23, ranked 72nd in the world, beat second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the second round, then knocked off Stan Wawrinka and John Isner to reach the final. Kyrgios won for the first time since the Brisbane event early last year, with all five of the Australian’s titles coming on hardcourts. Zverev, the German star ranked No. 3, has 10 ATP Tour victories, winning five times in 2017 and four last year. Earlier, China’s Wang Yafan won her first WTA Tour title, beating fifth-seeded Sofia Kenin 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Wang, 24 and ranked 65th, overcame a 2-0 deficit to win the second set.

BASEBALL

Farrell fractures jaw

Texas Rangers pitcher Luke Farrell was diagnosed with a fractured jaw after he was struck by a line drive Saturday night while pitching the ninth inning in a scoreless tie against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Farrell struck out the first batter he faced but couldn’t get his glove up to stop a liner from

Jalen Smith. Farrell was bleeding from his mouth and needed some assistance as he left the field and was taken to the hospital across the street from Scottsdale Stadium. The Rangers reported that Farrell, who was making his third appearance of the spring, was alert and had X-rays, which showed a fracture. He was released from the hospital and will be examined today by a specialist. Farrell, 27, was acquired in the offseason on a waiver claim from the Los Angeles Angels. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has only 441/3 innings in his MLB career, 311/3 of them coming last season for the Chicago Cubs.

HORSE RACING

20th horse dies at Santa Anita

Another horse has died at Santa Anita, making it 20 fatalities at the racetrack since its winter meet began on Dec. 26. Santa Anita officials announced Sunday that because of heavy rain forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, racing won’t resume until Friday. Normally, racing would be held on Thursday. The track will remain open for training each day of the upcoming week. The latest horse death occurred Saturday during the third race when 4-yearold filly Eskenforadrink was in the lead of a $16,000 claiming race. Jockey Geovanni Franco pulled her up with an injury to her front leg. The filly was vanned off the track and later euthanized. The dirt surface on Saturday was rated sloppy from rain, but it’s unknown whether the track condition played any role in the horse’s injury. Santa Anita had 111/2 inches of rain and unusually cold temperatures in February. Of the 20 deaths, seven have occurred during a race on the dirt, five have occurred on turf and eight came during training on dirt. The track will host a major day of racing this Saturday, including the $600,000 Santa Anita Handicap for older horses and the $500,000 San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-old Kentucky Derby hopefuls.

SLED DOG RACING

Iditarod race kicks off

The world’s most famous sled dog race is underway in Alaska. The Iditarod Trail race began Sunday afternoon in Willow, Alaska, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. Mushers left the starting line in two-minute intervals. The first one out on the thousand-mile trail to the finish line in Nome was Anja Radano of Talkeetna, Alaska. There are 52 mushers total in the international field, which includes four Canadians, two Norwegians including the defending champion and one musher each from Sweden and France. Mushers will guide their dog teams over two mountain ranges, untamed wilderness, the Yukon River and the dangerous, wind-whipped Bering Sea coast. The winner is expected under the famous burled arch finish line in Nome, on Alaska’s western coast, in about nine days.

Farrell